REBEL8

Hope you can roll through and party with us.

Today is our last day in the San Francisco warehouse.

I’d personally like to thank our current crew, as well as all the past REBEL8 employees, for all their help in getting us this far. It’s been great.

Next stop Los Angeles!

Our online shop is closed. We are moving warehouses. Please check back in a few weeks.

Until then, please visit a store that proudly carries REBEL8, or shop from one of these REBEL8 authorized online dealers:

Moose Shirts
The Giant Peach

Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. I was in LA last week. Survived another tattoo session on my neck with Chris Conn.

Now I’m back in sunny San Francisco, sitting in my studio, puffing on a joint, listening to some Vangelis and blogging it up for y’all. Hope you’re all as happy to be alive as I am!

Some weeks ago I let you know how about our move and scheduled product release timeline on this blog post. I think all the information is still accurate.

Moving sucks. But moving on up, that ain’t bad. Really excited about this next chapter of REBEL8. I’ll show you what I’ve been working on once I get us settled in our new spot. This move is as monumental as the one I took back in ‘05 when I decided to sign a lease for our first warehouse. Most of you have never had a chance to visit R8HQ. And I apologize for never opening up these doors to you. I promise in our next building, you’ll be invited to come through.

So here is the deal. I need your help. All of you REBEL8ers across the globe, this is your chance to be included in our [online] warehouse sale. I will personally be answering all customer service emails over these next weeks, so please be patient in my responses. I love staying connected and I hate being hard to find, but I’m only one person. Thanks in advance.

Use discount code “PMAFTW” for 50% off everything in your stash. Code will be valid until February 15, 2013 when our online shop goes offline.

Now it’s time for me to roll up my sleeves, put my head down, and get back to work. Thanks for everything. See you on the other side!

I love seeing our warehouse get empty over the course of a season. I love knowing that the thousands of products leaving represent the thousands of loyal REBEL8ers around the globe. But what I really love is filling the warehouse back-up with new product to start the cycle over again.

These are our three fitted New Eras for Spring 2013 Delivery 1. Shipping to stockists in a week and available online at REBEL8.com in a month.

I know I mentioned a few days ago we’d be releasing our Spring collection online a little late this year, but I’m happy to report that it’ll be available worldwide through our loyal stockists much sooner. Expect the latest REBEL8 to hit boutique shelves in a couple of weeks.

Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. Just been working away in the studio. Thinking about all the changes going on in my life right now. The big change is our move to LA.

Personally, I’ve been wanting to move down there for a few years, mostly because SF has gotten so damn expensive. When I moved here in 1993 I was making $7 an hour at Think Skateboards, living with some co-workers in a crooked old Victorian house in the Western Addition. The rent for my room was $400 a month. Now, 20 years later, I make about $26 an hour and the rent for my little one-bedroom is $2000 a month. So over the last half of my life, my income has increased over 300% (which is awesome!) but rent has increased 500% (sucky!).

So when Joshy told me that REBEL8 needed a bigger warehouse, I knew we couldn’t afford to stay here in San Francisco. A move to LA made sense, to us personally as well as for REBEL8. So Joshy got work and made it happen! And I’m psyched! I will be bouncing back and forth between LA and SF through the summer then officially moving down there in October. Until then I’ll just be sitting at my desk, drawing stuff for you to rock on t-shirts.

And say Hi if you see me riding the SF streets. I ain’t gone yet! Viva San Pancho!

As some of you may be aware, REBEL8 is once again in a noticeable transitional phase. We haven’t had a change this big since our first move back in ‘06 from my 10×10 studio apartment on Divisadero  Street to a 1,000 square foot warehouse on 3rd. Most times, you see the finished product after months of sampling & production;  after countless subtle and sometimes drastic alterations. Only after a seasonal release do you see the progression of the brand in comparison to the previous. However, behind the scenes we are always moving and in constant shift.

Through our Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and this very blog, I try to pull back the curtain and show you the insides of the REBEL8 operation. There are no smoke & mirrors. For example, our main man Mike Giant handles the illustrations. He draws on paper with a Sharpie. That’s how it gets done. The magic is in the craft and process. We are in constant motion playing this streetwear game on an ever-changing field. I think a suitable metaphor is a surfer catching the best wave of his life.

So please bare with us as we once again go under construction. Our Spring 2013 collection will begin hitting stores in a few weeks. Spring ‘13 marks the first time we are doing two separate seasonal deliveries. The second drop lands in shops mid-March. The complete Spring ‘13 collection will be available to buy in our online store end of March. Do not expect any new products in our online store until then.

REBEL8, by far, is the best company I’ve ever created and has been the most enjoyable to not only watch but be a part of. 2013 marks our 10th year in business and with our move into a warehouse six times the size of our current space, it feels like we are starting all over again. I’m ready for the next chapter of REBEL8. And I’m glad you are still here to help write it.

Thank you.

It’s always nice to see Sara Fabel spreading the 8.